R.I.P. Fagiolina

The sweetest, filthy kitten, who’s mother abandoned her and never taught her how to clean herself, I called her Fagiolina,(fagiolo in Italian means bean!!) and we met her at “La Columbina” , the bed and breakfast we stayed at. There were many cats prowling around the hotel, some of them eating whatever they could find and some who were too intimidated to eat for the sake of getting swatted by another cat, so I took it upon myself to buy some cat food and also give them scraps from our leftover meals, like milk or toast from our breakfast. I noticed Fagiolina wasn’t eating and she was very frail, naturally I gravitated towards this cute feline and became attached, I actually wanted to adopted this kitten and give her a warm, loving home but I must make this story short because to write this eulogy, it still pains me. One day Cris and I gave her a bath and flushed her eyes, which were full of puss and blow dried her, then she pooped on our towels! After we cleaned Fagiolina I noticed her breathing wasn’t right. It got me thinking Fagiolina was really ill. A day after we washed her, she came right towards us as we were walking towards our hotel room one evening, which was strange because she never did that before. On this cool clear night, Fagiolina stayed in our room, as long as I cleaned up after her, those were the rules. I made a little area for her with towels and a carpet that was in our room. As the morning came and we had our breakfast, something didn’t feeling right to me. We went to the vet in town and to asked how much a visit and med’s would cost, which for me to save an animal, especially a cat, would be worth it. I went back to the hotel, Cris went to work and I couldn’t let her suffer any longer, so I wrapped her up in my sweater and we went off to the vet. The noise from the traffic made Fagiolina meow constantly, and I knew the trek would be stressful. The walk to the vet felt like a million miles away, I couldn’t get there fast enough, but didn’t know it would actually take Fagiolina’s life. When I entered the vet they saw me carry this cat and I asked the nurse to help me but when I opened my sweater I noticed she passed on. The nurse brought me into a room, said ‘sorry” and asked if I wanted to cremate her, which I knew it was going to cost money, so I said “no”. The nurse gave me a box to put her in with my sweater and I walked home with this box. It was heart wrenching to walk home, thinking there was this kitten I tried to save and take care of that died because I didn’t make it to the vet in time or that it was my fault she died for taking her to the vet in the first place. Now I believe the reason Fagiolina came to our room that night is because she wanted to be comforted in her last days and I know we gave her warmth, affection and love even if was for a sort while.

-The Bean